1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning electronic components such as ceramic electronic components, and an electronic component manufacturing method using the apparatus, for example, and relates to a component aligning apparatus for aligning electronic components when forming external electrodes, and an electronic component manufacturing method using the apparatus, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, in chip-type electronic components, external electrodes are formed by applying conductive paste to the outer surface of the chip-type electronic components. To apply such conductive paste to chip-type electronic components with high precision, an aligning apparatus 1001 shown in FIG. 15 is used in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-345240.
In the aligning apparatus 1001, a guide plate 1003 having a plurality of through-holes 1003a is mounted on a bed 1002. Chip-type electronic components 1004 are inserted in the individual through-holes 1003a of the guide plate 1003.
The chip-type electronic components 1004 have a rectangular parallelepiped shape. One end along the length of the chip-type electronic components 1004 projects upwards from the through-holes 1003a. As shown in FIG. 16, as seen in plan view, the dimension along the diagonal of the chip-type electronic components 1004, and the inside diameter of the through-holes 1003a are set to be substantially equal. Thus, the chip-type electronic components 1004 are held within the through-holes 1003a in proper orientation without rattling.
As shown in FIG. 15, a film 1006 having an adhesive layer 1005 formed on the lower surface is stuck onto the lower surface of a top plate 1007. In this case, the top plate 1007 is lowered to bring the adhesive layer 1005 into contact with one end of the chip-type electronic components 1004. In that state, the top plate 1007 is moved upwards, and the chip-type electronic components 1004 are immersed into a conductive paste layer from the side of the chip-type electronic components 1004 opposite to the side fixed to the adhesive layer 1005, thereby applying conductive paste.
In recent years, in the field of chip-type electronic components, there has been a strong demand for smaller size, particularly lower height. Accordingly, chip-type electronic components are made thinner and thinner. As miniature electronic components thus become increasingly thinner, it is becoming more and more difficult to apply conductive paste to a large number of chip-type electronic components with high precision by use of the aligning apparatus 1001 described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-345240. This is illustrated in FIGS. 17A to 19B.
FIGS. 17A and 17B are a schematic plan view and a partially cut-away front sectional view, respectively, showing a state in which a thin chip-type electronic component 1010 is inserted in each of the through-holes 1003a in proper orientation. While there would be no problem if the chip-type electronic component 1010 is held within the through-hole 1003a in proper orientation, due to the small thickness of the chip-type electronic component 1010, the chip-type electronic component 1010 tends to move in the direction of an arrow A in FIG. 17A.
As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, there are also cases when the chip-type electronic component 1010 tilts obliquely within each of the through-holes 1003a. Further, as shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, there are also cases when two chip-type electronic components 1010 are erroneously inserted in a single through-hole 1003a. 
Accordingly, in the case where the aligning apparatus 1001 having the though-holes 1003a that are circular in plan view as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-345240 is used, it is not possible to adapt to thickness reduction of chip-type electronic components. If the chip-type electronic component 1010 is placed within each of the through-holes 1003a in the manner as shown in FIGS. 18A, 18B, 19A and 19B, the chip-type electronic component 1010 cannot be held in proper orientation when brought into contact with the adhesive layer 1005 mentioned above. Accordingly, it is impossible to apply conductive paste to a specific portion of the chip-type electronic component 1010 with high precision.